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National Access Cannabis Announces Investment NAC Bio

Newly formed entity to further clinical research into the efficacy of medicinal cannabis in treating chronic illness

OTTAWA, May 23, 2018 /CNW/ - National Access Cannabis Corp. ("NAC" or the "Company") (TSXV: META), Canada's best practices leader in delivering secure, safe, and responsible access to legal cannabis today announced a $1,000,000 investment in NAC Bio Inc. ("NAC Bio"), a separate legal entity established to advance clinical research into the medicinal benefits of cannabis in the treatment of chronic disease and illness. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, NAC Bio will be run by Dr. Tyler Wish, who previously led NAC's research and development efforts.

"To date, NAC has successfully assisted more than 10,000 patients in accessing Canada's medicinal cannabis program and we continue to be committed to supporting physicians, patients, and patient outcomes as Canada's best practices leader," said Mark Goliger, CEO of NAC. "That is why today we are announcing the formation of NAC Bio Inc., a health information company dedicated to enhancing medicinal cannabis patient outcomes. With Dr. Tyler Wish's leadership and expertise, we will be utilizing today's most cutting-edge tools and approaches from the domains of data-science, genomics and digital health to support large-scale patient research studies aimed at advancing the safety and efficacy of medicinal cannabis. Over time, we hope that our research efforts will develop innovative diagnostic and therapeutics products that may be commercialized through our partnership with NAC Bio."

"Globally, there is a lack of high-quality, large-scale research data on medicinal cannabis patients, yet this information, evidence and analysis is critically necessary for advancing medical knowledge, enhancing patient outcomes, and supporting innovation," said Dr. Tyler Wish, CEO of NAC Bio. "NAC Bio is aiming to establish a large-scale, longitudinal patient registry that integrates phenotypic and genomic information. Medicine is quickly becoming a data-science and our goal is to provide patients and providers with data-driven insights that enable more informed and personalized treatment decisions with respect to the use of medicinal cannabis."

In connection with the closing, NAC has invested an initial amount of $400,000 and will increase its investment by $100,000 increments over the next 12 months. Upon closing, NAC will hold a 50.3% stake in NAC Bio, scaling to 57.1% following the completion of its investment.

Prior to working with NAC, Dr. Tyler Wish co-founded and was CEO of Sequence Bio, a privately-held, venture-backed biotechnology company that is leading a Newfoundland 100,000 person genome sequencing initiative designed to advance "big data" drug discovery. In addition, Tyler was appointed as one of ten Canadian Innovation Leaders by the Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Tyler is a board member of Actua, Canada's largest non-profit youth STEM outreach organization, which delivers STEM programming and digital learning opportunities to 250,000 youth annually.

This news release contains forward looking statements and forward looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements and information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements concerning future issuances of NAC Bio shares and financing from the Company, and the completion or benefit of any research conducted by NAC Bio. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward looking statements and information because the Company cannot give any assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those that are currently contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the risks that NAC does not complete its investment into NAC Bio and the risk that the research is not completed properly or at all or does not result useful or conclusive information. The statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release.

The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward looking statement or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About National Access Cannabis

National Access Cannabis is Canada's best practices leader in delivering secure, safe, and responsible access to legal cannabis. Through its Canada-wide network of care centres and retail locations, NAC enables patients and the public to gain knowledge and access to Canada's disparate network of authorized Licensed Producers of Cannabis. NAC improves the quality of life of its local clients and provides services designed to inform, educate and supply expert advice.